Birth of a Music Legend
by Lawrence Payne
Summary: Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest places.


Title: Birth of a Music Legend (or The Day William Met William). Humor/Fantasy 

Author: Lawrence Payne

Rating: PG

Timeline: Pre BtVS S1

Setting: Stanmore, England. Around 1980.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. A whole slew of other people own these characters and concepts.

Comments: Constructive feedback is always appreciated. :)

Summary: Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest places.

Authors Notes #1: This was supposed to be part of the UK drabble challenge, but it was just too big a story to fit into a 100-word format.

Authors Notes #2: Forewarning, I am an American who is writing a story set in 1980's England. It is a place I have never been and is set during a time before I was born. I say this because I am trying to use dialog from this era. To someone actually from the UK, it will probably sound ridiculous.

Authors Notes #3: Lastly, this story is a complete work of fiction. It's just a silly idea I had. There is zero historical truth in it. This is just something I dreamed up in my overheated imagination.

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"This ain't working mate," William Broad said to his manager as he sat in the opposing desk chair. "I'm not getting any gigs."

"I know things are a little light right now," his manager declared. "But they will pick up."

"You know what it is? It's this bleeding getup you've got me in. This ain't Rock and Roll. This is schoolboy crap. I need a new image. Something cool. Something that says... Dangerous!"

William was referring to his short brown hair, the pressed blue blazer, starched white shirt, perfectly creased light blue corduroy pants, and shiny brown shoes he wore.

"William! Language Please!" his manager chastised. "Listen to me, your image is fine. People like a young man who takes care of himself. No one is going to hire an accordion player who looks like a ruffian. Trust me, this is the way to go."

"But..." William began.

"Just be patient." his manager interrupted. "Work will come, I promise you. Don't do anything crazy. Leave this Rock and Roll nonsense to the lowlies."

"O.K. I guess. Can I go now?"

"Sure William."

William got up from his chair, grabbed his accordion, and left his manager's office thoroughly disillusioned. It had been over a year since he had a paying gig. He was seriously considering giving up the music biz altogether, but what else could he do. Music was the only thing he was good at. It was in his blood. Besides, the thought of working in his uncle's garage was just too depressing to bear.

By the time William left the office it was already dark out. His mother told him not to be out after dark because of all the recent disappearances, but he didn't have a choice. The trolley home wasn't due for another half an hour.

William heard the stories of what happened to people who were out after dark in Stanmore. How they disappeared and were never seen or heard from again. He dismissed them as rubbish and continued his trek to the trolley.

As he walked, he heard an animalistic snarl coming from a small alleyway. He stopped for a second to check it out. He quickly scanned the alley but found nothing but darkness.

Suddenly, a hand reached out of the darkness, grabbed William by the collar, and quickly pulled him deep into the alley. The hand lifted him several inches off the ground as it pressed his back against a nearby wall and held him there, his feet dangling several inches off the ground.

After the momentary shock of his abduction wore off, William got his first look at his captor. He was face-to-face with a man in a long, black, leather coat and bright, blond hair.

"This is what I love about this town," the mystery man said. "A blok just wakes up and there it is, a meal all nice and ready for me."

"No!" said a female voice from the darkness.

"Something wrong pet?"

A mysterious woman emerged from the darkness of the alley.

"The people. Look at all the pretty people. Dancing and singing and screaming his name."

"Having another one of your visions Dru?"

"I see him. He will be great, this one. Destined for stardom. Yes! An idol to millions he will be."

"Stardom? This wanker."

"I can see them. Millions and millions of people, singing and dancing."

The mysterious woman began to sway back and forth to an unheard rhythm.

"Dancing and dancing! Dancing! And Dancing!..." the woman repeated as she madly waltzed around the alley.

"You alright pet? Sure you don't fancy a bite."

The woman abruptly stopped her dance.

"Shush! Do you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The baby. The tiny, little baby. In the cradle, all snug and cozy. Pretty little baby warm in the cradle."

The woman cuddled an imaginary infant in her arms and returned to her dance.

"Gently rocking, back and forth, back and forth. Rocking in the cradle of love."

She then danced back into the darkness, all the while singing, "Rocking in the cradle of love. Rocking! Rocking! Rocking! Rocking!..."

William was once again alone with his abductor.

"This is you're lucky day mate," the man said. "Dru says you're all destined for greatness, so I'll get my dinner elsewhere. Word of advice. Loose the bloody schoolboy getup and ditch this sodding thing." William's abductor grabbed the accordion from off his shoulder and flung it into the street. The platinum haired man took one last look at William before releasing his grip on William's collar then gently setting him on the ground.

"Now sod off!"

William ran for his life.

He ran for over ten minutes straight. He ran until his lungs burned and his legs turned to rudder. When he finally stopped, he realized he was nowhere near the trolley stop. With his last remaining bit of strength he hailed a cab and went home.

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"WILLIAM!! What have you done!?" his manager yelled.

His manager was referring to the wildly spiked blond hair, gold earring, ripped black shirt under a studded black leather jacket, leather pants, steel studded bracelets, and the seemingly permanent sneer that made up William's new attire.

"What have I done?" William mockingly snickered. "I'll tell you what I've done. I've ditched my sodding pathetic excuse for a manager AND that bleeding accordion! That's what I've done."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Hell no! This is rock and roll baby! And don't call me William. That's not my name anymore. The name's Billy. Billy..." William paused for second to think about what his new last name should be. "Idol. Yeah! Billy Idol. I like the sound of that."

Billy left his now former manager's office. As he walked out, he sang his new song, 'Rock the Cradle of Love'.

END

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